By having your dog or cat spayed or neutered, you are helping to reduce the stray population. In the U.S. alone, there are six to eight million animals entering animal shelters each year. That is like taking the entire population of New Jersey and putting them into shelters all at one time. Worse yet is that less than half of those animals are ever adopted, and the rest are euthanized. If more pets were spayed or neutered, that number could be drastically reduced and countless lives would be spared.
2. Improving Bad Behavior

Unaltered dogs and cats are more prone to things like urine-marking or spraying, roaming, barking or howling, aggression, and dominance-related issues such as mounting. Having your pet spayed or neutered at an early age is the key to minimizing these behaviors. The longer your pet goes without the surgery, the more deep-rooted these behaviors become. Most veterinarians will say the best time to get your cat or dog fixed is at six to eight weeks, this way you are catching bad behavior before it has even had time to manifest. Rest assured though, having your pet altered will not negatively impact their personality; only the undesirable behaviors.

3. Longer Life Span

In recent years, studies have shown that pets who have been altered live a longer and healthier life. Unaltered pets are more likely to roam, which opens them up to many hazards such as fighting with other animals or being struck by a car. Another contributing factor of longevity involves the lowered risk of certain of cancers. Unaltered females have a greater chance of cancer of the urinary or reproductive system, while males are at high risk for testicular and prostate cancer.
4. Cost Efficient

These days, low-cost spay and neuter clinics are everywhere so the cost of surgery has greatly decreased. It is also obvious that the are lowered health risk in an altered pet means fewer vet bills in the long run. In addition, some unaltered pets are more high strung, causing them to be destructive or aggressive. Serious fighting can lead to very high veterinarian cost and repairing your home after a match of dog vs. couch is no low cost either.

Hundreds of strays in our community can be saved by spaying and neutering, and your pet can live a longer life. That’s all we really want, right? Just a little while longer with our best friends. Contact your veterinarian or search the web for a low-cost spay and neuter clinics today and you’ll be glad you did. Be sure to spread the word to family and friends. We can all help make this world a happier and healthier pet friendly home.
*****************Heather Gaida, owner of Trusty Tails Pet Care, started pet sitting in 2006 while in graduate school. She now runs a professional dog walking, pet sitting and boarding business here in Hoboken, where she and her staff care for and love pets 24/7/365. If you are interested in learning more about her services, call 201.446.1559 or email bark@trustytails.com.